Pop Up Rockwell

POP UP ROCKWELL is a one-week experiment to test “complete & green street” improvements on downtown Cleveland’s Rockwell Avenue (between W. Roadway and E. 6th Street), which took place during April 21 - 27, 2012. The temporary street transformation explores fresh ideas for making the street more pedestrian and bicyclist friendly. Going beyond two-dimensional drawings used in typical public meetings, Pop Up Rockwell allows people to physically experience a future vision of the city in three dimensions, in a real environment, and provide feedback before large financial and political investments are made.

The project builds on the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative's (CUDC) expertise in temporary urbanism developed through Pop Up City, an initiative started by the CUDC in 2007. The project is led by graduate students at Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, but involves partnership with several stakeholder groups representing advocacy organizations, non-profits, municipal government, federal agencies and local businesses. The temporary installations include Cleveland’s first cycle track, stormwater bio-filtration benches, enhanced transit waiting areas and wind animated public art. Lessons learned from the short-term project may influence permanent changes, which support the City of Cleveland’s Complete & Green Streets Ordinance and Group Plan Commission recommendations.